Destruction Will Not Come Near You

Dinkelsbuhl was our favourite German town!

 

 

It was also once a Free Imperial City of the Holy Roman Empire.

 

 

Dinkelsbuhl was fortified by Henry V in 1305. That is how old it is!

 

 

During the Protestant Reformation, Dnkelsbuhl was noted for first having an equal amount of Roman Catholics and Protestants, each with the same rights.

 

 

Since 1534 the vast majority of the population in Dinkelsbuhl became Protestant.

 



 

Remarkedly, during all the wars, Dinkelsbuhl remained unscathed.

 



 

The famous movie, "The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimms" was filmed here.

 

 



Brian, our son Daniel, and I were able to walk along the fortified walls around Dinkelsbuhl, as well as walk along the outside of these walls.

 



 

It was obviously, God's hand of protection was on this town during the terrible wars.

 

 

When we put our trust in God, a thousand may fall at our side and ten thousand may at our right hand, but destruction will not near us.

 

"A thousand may fall at your side,

ten thousand at your right hand,

but it will not come near you."

Psalm 91:7 (NIV)

Shine, Like The Stars In The Sky

There are only three towns in Germany that still have completely established walls surrounding their cities: Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Nordlingen and Dinkelsbuhl. In our time in Germany, we had the priviledge of visiting all three of these beautiful towns.

Nordlingen is a town built in a crater caused by a meteorite impact.

When the meteorite impacted a local graphite deposit, approximately 72,000 tons of diamonds were created.

Therefore, the stone buildings in Nordlingen are made of millions of tiny diamonds.

As I think about these diamonds embedded in the grey stone of these buildings, I am reminded that we, as God's children who hold firmly to His Word, are like these diamonds. We shine amongst the dullness and lifelessness of this world because God's precious radiant Spirit resides in each one of us.

"Do everything without grumbling or arguing,

so that you may become blameless and pure,

'children of God without fault
in a warped and crooked generation.'

Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky

as you hold firmly to the Word of Life."
Philippians 2:14-15 (NIV)

We were once made of stone, but God has turned us into diamonds by impacting us by His Spirit.

The Name Of The Lord Is Our Fortress

Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a well-preserved old medieval town in Germany built on a plateau overlooking the Tauber River.

From the late middle ages to 1803, it was a Free Imperial City.

In German, the name means "red fortress above the Tauber. The red refers to the many red coloured roofs of the houses.

Rothenburg has been hailed as the most German of all German towns.

Rothenburg is strongly fortified with very tall walls and towers. Brian, Daniel and I were able to walk entirely around the town along these walls.





As I walked along these fortified walls with my husband and son, God reminded how blessed we are. As His children, we don't need fortified walls to protect us. The name of the Lord is our strong fortress. We run to Him and are safe.

"The name of the Lord

is a strong fortress;

the godly run to Him and are safe."

Proverbs 18:10 (NLT) 

When Justice Is Done

The next city we visited in Germany was Wurzburg. When the Nazi rose to power, 2,000 Jews lived in Wurzburg at the time because it was an important rabbinic center. Of  those 2,000 Jewish people sent to concentration camps, only a few survived.

This city was then 90 percent destroyed in World War II by a 17-minute air raid of 225 British Lancaster bombers.

 

Afterward the bombings, it took 20 years for the buildings of historical importance in Wurzburg to be reconstructed.

 

They were painstakingly and accurately rebuilt mainly by women because most of the men were dead.

 

When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers.

 

"When justice is done,

it brings joy to the righteous

but terror to evildoers."

Proverbs 21:18 (NIV)

The World Hated Me First

Nuremberg, located on the Pegnitz River and the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal, was the very first city we visited in Germany.

 

It is the second largest city in the German state of Bavaria.



 

 

Nuremberg is often referred to as having been the capital of the Holy Roman Empire.

 

 



 

Since the city of Nuremberg is centrally located in Germany, it was chosen by the Nazi Party as the grounds for their huge Nazi Party Propaganda Rallies.

 

The Palace of Justice in Nuremberg was where the laws were passed to strip all Jews of their citizenship. After World War II, the Palace of Justice was then chosen to be the appropriate place to bring to trial the German officials who were involved in such horrific war crimes and crimes against humanity.

 

The historical Church of Our Lady stands in the eastern side of the main market of Nuremberg.

 



 

It was built in the middle 1300's in place of the Jewish Synagogue which was destroyed by rioters blaming the Jews for the Black Plague.

 



 

Appalling, we see throughout history different ethnic or religious groups being hated, tortured and murdered. Today, I am alarmed that we still see this happening. But we must keep in mind that if the world hates you, the world hated Jesus first.

 

"If the world hates you,

keep in mind,

that it hate me first."

John 18:15 (NIV) 



Apple Of His Eye

The morning we arrived in Germany and checked in at our bed and breakfast, we decided to walk to the nearby town of Iphofen which has the closest train station to Markt Einersheim. (We were tired of sitting in a plane all night, so we were eager to get some exercise.)

 

 

Even though the sky was lightly overcast, it was a nice warm day to walk through farm fields and by rows of apple trees which lined the road.

 



 

I even picked some fallen apples to eat along the way. (I couldn't resist the temptation.) They had such a distinct taste, like no apple I have ever eaten before. I thought they were delicious!

 

And as I was enjoying eating those apples, God reminded me that we, His children, are the apple of His eye in which He greatly delights in.

 

"Keep me

as the apple of Your eye;

hide me

in the shadow

of Your wings."

Psalm 17:8 (NIV)

 

 

Once we reached Iphofen, we boarded the German regional train to spend the rest of the day in Nuremberg. 

Our Paths Will Be Made Straight

A few days ago, Brian, I and our oldest Daniel returned home to Edmonton from spending two weeks exploring Germany.

Daniel worked in Salem, Germany for eight months while attending Thompson Rivers University when he was nineteen years old.  At the time, I really wanted to visit him, but couldn't afford it. Now twelve years later, I was finally able to go there with him.

When we arrived in Frankfort airport on September 3rd, we rented a Ford Echo Sport diesel car to begin our new adventure and drove to Markt Einersheim.

There we stayed for one week at a bed and breakfast called the Old Doctor's Inn, which is 1 hour and 45 minutes from Frankfurt.

The Old Doctor's Inn was built in 1792, and as the name suggests, it served as a residence and doctor's office for four generations of medical doctors.

 

Until 1996 patients came there for medical advice and help. Now guests from all over the world come there for their great hospitality and tourist advice.

Dr. Wolfram Braun and his wife Dodo, and their daughter Ruth are the wonderful hosts of this charming and historical place.

 

Markt Einersheim is a historical quaint village in Bavaria, Germany. At the end of World War II, this small town was bombed by U.S. Army Air Forces P-47 Thunderbolts on April 5. On April 6, the American troops then captured the town from the German forces, causing them to retreat to southeast Germany.

Now that I can look back, God obviously had another plan and timing to make my dream to Germany come true. When we put our trust in Him, not lean on our own understanding, and submit all our ways to Him, God makes our paths straight.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways submit to Him,

and He will make your paths straight."

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)

 

In other words the paths God's chooses for us are never planned haphazardly. He knows are hearts, but He also knows when it is best for us to experience those dreams our hearts desire.